Russia: Three crew killed in Navy plane crash

Moscow: Russia`s Defense Ministry says that one of its planes has crashed near its Black Sea base in Ukraine, killing three of its four crewmen.

The ministry said the Navy`s Beriyev Be-12 twin-engine turboprop crashed today near its base on Ukraine`s Crimean Peninsula. The only crew member who survived the crash was hospitalized in serious condition.

Russia`s RIA Novosti news agency said the crash occurred after one of the plane`s engines failed as it was preparing to land. It said the aircraft had been in service for more than 30 years.

The military has suspended the flights of all planes of that type pending a crash investigation.

The Be-12 is an amphibian plane that has been in service with the Soviet and then Russian Navy since the early 1960s.